Elkhart, Kansas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elkhart, Kansas
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City and County seat
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Morton County Court House (2009)
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Location within Morton County and Kansas
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| Country | United States |
| State | Kansas |
| County | Morton |
| Founded | 1913 |
| Incorporated | 1913 |
| Named for | Elkhart, Indiana |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.05 sq mi (5.32 km2) |
| • Land | 2.05 sq mi (5.32 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 3,586 ft (1,093 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 1,888 |
| • Density | 921.0/sq mi (354.9/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
67950
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| Area code | 620 |
| FIPS code | 20-20350 |
| GNIS ID | 485090 |
Elkhart is a city in and the county seat of Morton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,888. The south edge of the city is the Kansas-Oklahoma state border, and the city is 8.5 miles (13.7 km) from the Kansas-Colorado border.
Contents
History
Early history
For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.
19th century
In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre. In 1848, after the Mexican-American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Spain brought into the United States all or part of land for ten future states, including southwest Kansas.
In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1886, Morton County was established, which included the land for modern day Elkhart.
20th century
Elkhart was founded in 1913, and was named after Elkhart, Indiana.
In the 1930s, the prosperity of the area was severely affected by its location within the Dust Bowl. This catastrophe intensified the economic impact of the Great Depression in the region.
In 1961, the county seat was moved from Richfield to Elkhart.
Geography
Elkhart is located at 37°0′11″N 101°53′53″W / 37.00306°N 101.89806°W (37.003108, -101.898085). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.11 square miles (5.46 km2), all of it land.
Climate
Elkhart has a cool semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) characterized by generally dry winters with extreme temperature variations, and hot summers with occasional heavy precipitation from thunder showers or storms.
During winter, because western Kansas lies both on the edge of the subtropical anticyclones and in the rain shadow of westerly winds crossing the Rocky Mountains, the region is generally dry: no measurable precipitation fell in Elkhart between 25 December 1903 and 2 April 1904, whilst monthly precipitation above 2 inches or 50.8 millimetres has never been recorded during January and is observed fewer than one year in ten during November, December or February. Temperatures can vary greatly during this season: strong chinook winds can drive temperatures above 80 °F or 26.7 °C even in the depth of winter, with 70 °F or 21.1 °C reached on average during six days between December and February, seven during November and eight during March. Nevertheless, cold outbreaks from Canada drive temperatures to or below 0 °F or −17.8 °C on an average of 3.6 nights per winter. The coldest temperature recorded in Elkhart has been −22 °F or −30 °C on January 19, 1984, whilst the hottest winter temperature has been 87 °F or 30.6 °C on February 1, 1963.
Snowfall is generally light due to dryness; however in the extremely wet and cold February 1903, 41.0 inches or 1.04 metres fell, being the major factor behind a record seasonal snowfall of 59.0 inches (1.50 m) between July 1902 and June 1903. In contrast, only a trace of snow was recorded between July 1949 and January 1950.
In the summer, the climate is generally very hot with relief from thunderstorms that provide most of the 18.9 inches or 480 millimetres of precipitation expected during one year. When an upper level anticyclone moves poleward, the atmosphere can become very stable and produce sustained extreme heat: in the hottest month of July 1980 the average maximum was 103.0 °F or 39.4 °C and all but seven days topped 100 °F or 37.8 °C. When the high retreats southward or a trough forms over the interior of the United States during the summer, however, precipitation can be heavy, with 10.91 inches or 277.1 millimetres falling in April 2016, 10.19 inches or 258.8 millimetres in June 2004 and 9.86 inches or 250.4 millimetres in July 1927. The wettest calendar year has been 1941 with 29.74 inches or 755.4 millimetres and the driest 1937 when only 9.03 inches or 229.4 millimetres fell.
| Climate data for Elkhart, Kansas (1971-2000; extremes since 1900) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 83 (28) |
87 (31) |
91 (33) |
96 (36) |
104 (40) |
110 (43) |
110 (43) |
108 (42) |
105 (41) |
96 (36) |
91 (33) |
85 (29) |
110 (43) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 45.1 (7.3) |
50.6 (10.3) |
58.6 (14.8) |
68.1 (20.1) |
77.8 (25.4) |
88.9 (31.6) |
93.4 (34.1) |
90.9 (32.7) |
82.3 (27.9) |
71.6 (22.0) |
56.3 (13.5) |
46.9 (8.3) |
69.2 (20.7) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 18.3 (−7.6) |
22.2 (−5.4) |
29.9 (−1.2) |
38.9 (3.8) |
49.0 (9.4) |
58.9 (14.9) |
64.2 (17.9) |
62.7 (17.1) |
54.0 (12.2) |
41.1 (5.1) |
28.9 (−1.7) |
20.6 (−6.3) |
40.7 (4.8) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −22 (−30) |
−18 (−28) |
−18 (−28) |
8 (−13) |
21 (−6) |
33 (1) |
45 (7) |
43 (6) |
25 (−4) |
6 (−14) |
−7 (−22) |
−18 (−28) |
−22 (−30) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.54 (14) |
0.44 (11) |
1.38 (35) |
1.67 (42) |
2.75 (70) |
2.50 (64) |
2.82 (72) |
2.74 (70) |
1.69 (43) |
1.11 (28) |
0.78 (20) |
0.48 (12) |
18.9 (481) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 5.5 (14) |
4.4 (11) |
4.9 (12) |
1.2 (3.0) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.25) |
1.0 (2.5) |
1.6 (4.1) |
3.4 (8.6) |
22.3 (55.96) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 inch) | 3.3 | 3.1 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 6.9 | 5.2 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 62 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 inch) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.4 | trace | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | trace | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 9.3 |
| Source 1: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administriation | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service Dodge City | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1920 | 1,160 | — | |
| 1930 | 1,485 | 28.0% | |
| 1940 | 902 | −39.3% | |
| 1950 | 1,132 | 25.5% | |
| 1960 | 1,780 | 57.2% | |
| 1970 | 2,089 | 17.4% | |
| 1980 | 2,243 | 7.4% | |
| 1990 | 2,318 | 3.3% | |
| 2000 | 2,233 | −3.7% | |
| 2010 | 2,205 | −1.3% | |
| 2020 | 1,888 | −14.4% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,205 people, 856 households, and 571 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,045.0 inhabitants per square mile (403.5/km2). There were 999 housing units at an average density of 473.5 per square mile (182.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 87.7% White, 0.1% African American, 1.2% Native American, 2.5% Asian, 6.8% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20.7% of the population.
There were 856 households, of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.3% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.07.
The median age in the city was 38.4 years. 26.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23% were from 25 to 44; 25.6% were from 45 to 64; and 17.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.7% male and 52.3% female.
Area attractions
Education
Elkhart is served by USD 218 Elkhart. The Elkhart High School mascot is Wildcats.
Notable people
- Sanora Babb, writer.
- Walter Baker, sprinter, 2-time Olympic medalist (1952 and 1956.
- Glenn Cunningham, long distance runner, used to hold 1-mile world record, Olympic silver medalist 1936.
- Robelyn Garcia, former professional basketball player.
- Darrin Simmons, football coach, special teams for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Images for kids
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Elkhart, circa 1905
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See also
In Spanish: Elkhart (Kansas) para niños
